Section: National Newswatch (Canada)
Sajjan, Freeland say Canada extending Ukraine training mission to 2019
OTTAWA — The Liberal government is extending Canada’s military mission in Ukraine for another two years as it attempts to send a signal of continued solidarity with the eastern European country. “Canada’s support for Ukraine is unwavering,” Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said during a news conference Monday with Foreign...
Sajjan, Freeland announce Canada to extend Ukraine training mission to 2019
The Liberal government is extending Canada’s military mission in Ukraine for another two years as it attempts to send a signal of continued solidarity with the eastern European country. Canada first deployed about 200 troops to Ukraine in the summer of 2015 to help train government forces after Russia annexed Crimea and began supporting...
Amid firestorm, Trump appears to waver on Russia deal
WASHINGTON — Facing a new wave of questions about his ties to Russia, President Donald Trump is telling advisers and allies that he may shelve — at least temporarily — his plan to pursue a deal with Moscow on the Islamic State group and other national security matters, according to administration officials and Western diplomats. In conversations...
Ukraine looks to Canada to help modernize military’s ‘Soviet mentality’
As the war in Eastern Ukraine grinds on, away from the international headlines, the country’s Soviet-era military is struggling to suppress separatist forces backed by a modern, well-resourced Russian machine. And it is looking to Canada for help. Both sides in the three-year-old conflict blithely ignore commitments made under the Minsk...
Trump lawyer pushed pro-Russia deal for Ukraine, politician claims
The setting was a Manhattan restaurant, and after 25 minutes what allegedly emerged was a pro-Russian peace plan for Ukraine that its author believes may have ended up in the White House. In a CNN interview, Ukrainian lawmaker Andrii Artemenko said he discussed his left-field proposal for Ukraine in January with US President Donald Trump’s...
Canada’s military considering its next moves in Iraq, Ukraine and possibly Africa
Canada’s military is facing a critical few weeks as the federal government weighs renewed deployments to Iraq and Ukraine, ponders the fate of a long-awaited peace mission, lays out a new vision for the armed forces and decides the budget to pay for it all. It all sets the stage for what promises to be a busy year for Canadian soldiers —...
Chrystia Freeland’s Kremlin ban is a badge of honour
Our Foreign Affairs Minister, Chrystia Freeland, will not be sitting down for borscht and blini in Russia any time soon. Maybe never. She holds a rare ministerial distinction. She’s banned from that land. She was blacklisted three years ago, along with 12 other Canadians, in retaliation for sanctions imposed in response to Russian...
Canada set to renew Ukraine military training mission amid Trump fears
Canada is set to renew a military mission training Ukrainian troops to confront Russia-backed separatists in the east of Ukraine, despite concerns in Kiev over delays in announcing the extension of the program. The Trudeau cabinet has not yet announced the extension of the two-year-old non-combat mission, dubbed Operation Unifier, which expires...
A Back-Channel Plan for Ukraine and Russia, Courtesy of Trump Associates
A week before Michael T. Flynn resigned as national security adviser, a sealed proposal was hand-delivered to his office, outlining a way for President Trump to lift sanctions against Russia. Mr. Flynn is gone, having been caught lying about his own discussion of sanctions with the Russian ambassador. But the proposal, a peace plan for Ukraine...
Europeans wonder if Trump will act on Pence’s reassurances
MUNICH — U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence was the latest in a trio of high-ranking Trump emissaries to tell European allies in person that the United States will steadfastly support NATO and demand that Russia honour its commitments to end fighting in Ukraine. Some European leaders, however, remain skeptical of whether Pence and the U.S....
